Toast Canada's 150th Birthday with a Caesar on Victoria Day

This year Canada is 150 years old!

The Caesar Cocktail was created in Canada.

National Caesar Day is the Thursday before the Victoria Day long weekend, the kick-off to our long awaited summer.

Why not toast Canada’s 150th birthday with a Caesar Cocktail or two!

Ah, the Caesar Cocktail… it was one of those great moments in Canada’s history…

Walter Chell wanted to celebrate the opening of the Calgary Inn’s new Italian restaurant in 1969.

His invention - the Caesar Cocktail - quickly became a popular mixed drink.

It’s been said that over 350 million Caesars are consumed annually in Canada.

Chell said his inspiration came from the Italian dish Spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with tomato sauce and clams. 

He thought that if the mixture of clams and tomatoes made a good sauce it would make a great drink, so he mashed a few clams and then mixed the goop with vodka and other ingredients.

Brilliant or what!!

Well, Chell was a genius.
The drink was an immediate hit with the folks who went to the Calgary Inn.

Within five years the Caesar became Calgary's most popular mixed drink. 

Okay… here’s where it gets Karmic.

In 1970 Motts was developing Clamato, a mixture of clam and tomato juices.

That’s right, this happened one year after Chell created his cocktail.

Like I said, Karmic.

Clamato wasn’t as popular as Chell’s Caesar. 

But then somebody got a blast of inspiration and realized he could use Clamato to make the Caesar Cocktail.

An easier way to make an alcoholic drink?
Of course word spread like wildfire!

By 1994 half of all Clamato sales were made in Western Canada.

Motts claims that the Caesar is the most popular mixed drink in Canada.

The thing is, very few people outside of Canada know about the Caesar Cocktail. 

In the states it’s only known in bars along the shared border.

Most Americans just make do with a Bloody Mary. How sad!

Some say the Caesar is a hangover cure.
A 1985 University of Toronto study showed that drinking a Caesar when taking aspirin could protect a person's stomach from the aspirin.


In 2009, the Caesar Cocktail’s 40th anniversary, a petition to make it Canada’s official mixed drink was launched. Calgary’s Mayor, Dave Bronconnier, celebrated the drink's anniversary by declaring May 13 as Caesar Day.

Contests held across Canada in 2009 encouraged variations. Some ideas:
the glass being rimmed with Tim Hortons coffee grinds
Caesars with maple syrup
Caesars with bacon-infused vodka

Hail, Caesar!!

Want something to eat? Serve your Caesar with a Caesar Salad.

Hints:

The Caesar can be mixed in bulk and stored for a period of time before drinking.

Tabasco sauce and horseradish are frequent additions.

Vodka is occasionally replaced with gin, tequila or rum.

If you replace vodka with beer it’s called a Red Eye.
A drink without alcohol is a Virgin Caesar.

                        Caesar Cocktail

Moisten the rim of a highball glass with a lime wedge and dip into celery salt. 

Add 

1.5 ounces vodka

2 Dashes of Hot Sauce

3 Dashes of Salt and Pepper

4 Drops of Worcestershire sauce

5 ounces Mott’s Clamato 

ice 

Stir and garnish with a celery stick and a lime wedge.

                        Caesar Cocktail II

Moisten the rim of a highball glass with a lime wedge and dip into celery salt. 

Add

6 ounces Mott’s Clamato 

1 to 1 1/2 ounces vodka

2 Dashes of Hot Sauce

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Celery salt

Freshly ground pepper

ice

Stir and garnish with a celery stick and a lime wedge.

Anna Sultana’s Meatless Penne alla Vodka / Penne in Cream Sauce

A few years ago I posted the recipe for Penne alla Vodka from Artie's chapter Mia Cucina in The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

It’s become a popular post.

What’s not to love… 

pasta, tomatoes, cream, vodka.

And prosciutto.

Got an email asking if there’s a meatless version of the recipe.

Of course there is.

If you were reading any of the posts where I compared Carmela’s recipes to my Ma’s versions, you’ll remember that Ma usually had a healthier, lower cholesterol version of many of Carmela’s recipes.

And, of course, Ma had a healthier, meatless version of Penne alla Vodka.

it’s delicious, and perfect to make when you’ve invited a vegetarian, or two.

A bit of vodka trivia…

Usually the acidity of the tomatoes would make the oil in the cream separate. 

The vodka helps to make a stable emulsion, since it helps the liquid of the tomatoes and the oil in the cream remain mixed together. 

The vodka also helps develop the tomato’s flavour. 

Hints:

You can use either penne lisce (smooth) or penne rigate (ridged).

You can also use pennoni (big quills), a wider version of penne, or mostaccioli (little moustache) which also comes with either smooth or ridged sides.

The hollow centre and the ridges on penne rigate and on mostaccioli help to hold even more of the sauce.

Don’t have any kind of penne in the house?

Want a little variety?

You can use other types of pasta.

Choose something that has a bit of heft to it.

Yes to rigatoni or fettucinni, no to angel hair pasta or spaghettini.

Want more of a kick?

Use some more vodka instead of the tomato liquid to thin the sauce.

                        Penne alla Vodka

In a large pot bring to boil

4 quarts water

1 teaspoon salt

Drain, but save the liquid from

1 large can Italian tomatoes, chopped

In a dutch oven melt over medium heat

3 Tablespoons butter

Add

3 shallots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Cook until golden.

Add

the drained tomatoes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne 

Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in

1/3 Cup vodka

1 Cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

Stirring, cook 2 minutes, until it begins to thicken.

Remove from heat.

Add to the water boiling in the dutch oven

1 pound penne

Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente.

Drain well.

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss.

If the sauce is too thick add some of the liquid from the canned tomatoes.

Garnish with

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese

Serve immediately.

Appletini and Hot Apple Pie Vodka Drink Recipes - Margaret Ullrich

Appletini

On Sunday, October 4 it will be Vodka Day.

What wine is to folks in the Mediterranean area, vodka is to middle and northern Europe.

And to the North End of Winnipeg.

Yes, we’ve learned to enjoy it, too.

A few weeks ago I posted the recipe for a Pumpkin Smoothie.

Smoothies do not have vodka in them.

Today I am posting a recipe for two drinks, Appletini and Hot Apple Pie.

Yes they have vodka in them!

Vodka  is also used in the vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, vodka highball, Screwdriver, Greyhound, Black or White Russian, and 

Bloody Mary.

There is also a cocktail called the Rose Kennedy, named after the matriarch of the Kennedy Family of Cape Cod and the mother of President John F. Kennedy.

It is a cocktail popular in the Northeastern United States, and consists of vodka and club soda with a splash of cranberry juice for colour and and a bit of sweeting.

It is garnished with a lemon or lime wedge.

The Appletini has had its moments on television.

In The King of Queens (aired 2010), Carrie becomes sweet after drinking Appletinis, a state Doug calls "sober plus".

Along with a rum and diet coke, it is also the favourite drink of Alan Harper from Two and a Half Men.

Hints:

You could use a flavoured vodka, such as citrus, pear or caramel-flavoured.

A sweet and sour mix can also be added before shaking.

Vermouth may be included, as in a regular martini.

The appletini can also be made with martini bianco in a long drink glass and filled with apple juice.

A variation of the appletini is the Rumpletini, with a light rum in place of the vodka.

Want to eat your vodka?

Try Carmela Soprano's Penne alla Vodka / Penne in Cream Sauce

                        Appletini

Dip a green apple slice in lemon juice to preserve its colour.

Pour into a shaker filled with ice cubes

1 1/2 ounces vodka

1 ounce green apple schnapps or Calvados

1/4 ounce lemon juice or Cointreau (optional)

Shake very well.

Strain into a chilled glass.

Garnish with 

an apple slice and/or a maraschino cherry

Back to that pumpkin smoothie…

This drink will give you the taste of a hot apple pie.

This is for you, not the kiddies.  Seriously.

Along with the kick, it does have calories.

Well, nothing’s perfect.

Hints:

You can also prepare this as you did the Appletini, by combining all of the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice cubes and served in a chilled glass. 

                        Hot Apple Pie

Warm

2 ounces apple cider

Pour into a shaker 

1 1/2 ounces vanilla liqueur

1 ounce vodka

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Squeeze of lime juice

Shake very well.

Strain into a mug.

Add the warmed apple cider.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick (optional).

The Perseids and the Milky Way - Long Island Iced Tea Recipe by Margaret Ullrich

Summer is just zipping along.

Here we are in the middle of August.

In a couple of weeks the kids will be back in school.

Tonight the Perseids meteor shower will begin.

In a couple of days you’ll be able to see the Milky Way.

Time to create a few summer memories.

While the kids are oohing and aahing, you can sit back and relax with a nice drink.

The kids have been home for a couple of months.

You've earned it.

August 16 is National Rum Day.

In honour of that, you could go all pirate-like and knock back a few slugs, while singing Sixteen men on a dead man’s chest.

But maybe you should save that bit of fun for when the kids are in school.

You don’t want to give them any ammunition for when they do ‘Show and Tell’.

Long Island Iced Tea has rum in it.

Along with a few other things.

Think of it as a way of using leftovers.

You’ll have a bit more change to buy the kiddies’ school supplies.

Aren’t you being wonderful!!

Some Long Island Iced Tea history…

It may have started with a drink invented in the 1920s during Prohibition, by an "Old Man Bishop" in Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee.  

It was then perfected by Ransom Bishop, Old Man Bishop's son. 

This drink included whiskey and maple syrup, and varied quantities of the five liquors.

The Long Island Iced Tea appears in literature as early as 1961.

It's also called Texas Iced Tea, Georgia Iced Tea, Tokyo Tea, and Three Mile Island.

Back to the meteor shower viewing with the kiddies…

Make some regular iced tea for them and they’ll never know.

Hints:

Some recipes call for 1/2 ounce sweet and sour mix instead of 1/2 ounce lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sugar.

Some replace the cola with actual iced tea, or add white crème de menthe. 

Some restaurants substitute brandy for the tequila. 

                        Long Island Iced Tea

Shake with ice

1/2 ounce light rum

1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce tequila

1/2 ounce triple sec (or other orange-flavored liqueur)

1/2 ounce lemon juice

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

Strain into a chilled highball glass filled with ice.

Top with cola (leaving 1/2 inch space at top of glass)

Gently stir and garnish with a lemon wedge or spiral.

Serve with a straw. 

                        Long Island Iced Tea #2

Shake with ice 

1/2 ounce rum

1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce triple sec (or other orange-flavored liqueur)

1 ounce lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Strain into a chilled highball glass filled with ice.

Top with cola (leaving 1/2 inch space at top of glass)

Gently stir and garnish with a lemon wedge or spiral.

Serve with a straw. 

About the meteor shower and the moon…

According to the Farmers’ Almanac:

August is often regarded as “meteor month” with the appearance of The Perseids Meteor Shower. Viewing will be nearly ideal this year, as the Moon will be heading toward the New phase so it won’t be so bright.

The Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus, which is in the area of the sky where the shower appears. Look for the constellation Perseus in the northeast, near Cassiopeia, which looks like a large letter “W.”  The shower’s peak occurs around August 12, and  will be visible through August 22. 

The meteors are created by the dusty trail left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle as it orbits the Sun. The particles burn up in our atmosphere, becoming meteors, also known as “falling” or “shooting” stars.

The meteors can be seen with the naked eye. The best time to observe any meteor shower is during the early morning hours, between 2 and 5 a.m., but meteors will be visible any time after dusk, with a sharp upturn in activity around 11 p.m. Observers can expect to see as many as 60 meteors per hour during this shower.

August 14 - New Moon - no moon to see.  

Because the Moon is in its New phase, it will be dark, making it the best time for the kiddies to view the Milky Way. 

Enjoy!!

Anna Sultana’s Raspberry Sorbet and Simple Syrup

In my recent post about Ma’s lemonade recipe I mentioned that it could be frozen into a slushy or popsicle-like dessert.

Well, the kiddies aren’t the only ones who love something cold during hot summer days. 

Sure, you could stock up on ice cream.

But even ice cream can become a bit boring if you have it day after day.

It’s easy to make your own frozen desserts.

Sorbet is an easy to make, cool way to eat fruit.

It tastes great and the kids can help you make it.

It doesn’t have any milk or cream, so it’s perfect for dieters, or for people who want or need to avoid dairy products. 

Some say that the Roman Emperor Nero invented sorbet during the first century AD.

He had runners along the Appian way pass buckets of snow hand over hand from the mountains to his banquet hall where it was then mixed with honey and wine.

Relax.  This recipe is way easier.

No runners, snow, buckets or mountains required.

Hints:

The simple syrup can be prepared a day or two in advance.

Just keep it stored, covered, in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Actually it’s a good idea to have simple syrup on hand for drinks like lemonade, so it’s a good idea to make a bit extra.

If you’re making the sorbet the same day you’re making the syrup, speed the cooling by pouring the syrup into a bowl, then placing the bowl in a larger bowl of ice.

Stir the syrup until it cools.

If you want to use fresh lemon juice, you’ll need 1 to 2 lemons to get enough juice.

The vodka helps the sorbet freeze smoothly.

Don’t worry - the kids won’t get drunk from the sorbet.

On second thought, if they’re making it, maybe you should be in the same room when they are adding the vodka.

For a blueberry sorbet, use five cups of blueberries.

You can also experiment with other berries, such as strawberries.

Use lime juice instead of lemon juice for a less tart flavour.

Like it tart?  Use cranberries.

                        Simple Syrup

Place in a medium saucepan

1 1/4 Cups sugar

2 1/4 Cups water

Bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Then turn down the heat to low.

Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

                        Raspberry Sorbet

Combine in a blender

6 cups raspberries

1/4 Cup + 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Process until very smooth.

Pour the fruit through a fine sieve or strainer which is over a large bowl.

Press down on the solids to get a smooth mush in the bowl. 

Discard any leftover skins and seeds in the sieve.

Add to the mush

1 1/4 Cups simple syrup 

1 – 2 Tablespoons vodka 

Stir together until well combined.

Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 8 hours.

When the mixture is thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator.

Pour the sorbet mixture into a shallow pan, cover with foil, and place in the freezer. 

After 30 minutes or so, remove and beat the mixture using electric beaters or a sturdy fork. 

This will break up the ice crystals that form and make the mixture freeze more evenly for a smoother sorbet.

Recover the sorbet with the aluminum foil. 

Place the sorbet back in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Remove and beat the mixture using electric beaters or a sturdy fork.

Repeat this process every 30 minutes, until the sorbet is too hard to beat.

Scoop into a resealable container and freeze until ready to serve.

You can serve it as is, or garnish each serving with fresh fruit.